Graham’s Cold Cure
Okay, I’m probably sacrificing my overall attractiveness with this one, too, but it’s all in the name of patient care and relieving suffering, which I hope are valiant and attractive enough to outweigh the too-much-information-eww-gross-disgusting part.
I used to make fun of my college friend Sam for doing this, because it really is pretty gross, and he did it in the public bathroom, but I’m sorry, Sam. You were right.
I’ll just lay it out there now: suck warm salt water up your nose.
If you feel a sore throat or cold coming on, get a mug of warm salt water, and suck it up each nostril. I have absolutely no evidence to support this, as I’m just not in the mood to search PubMed, but I’ve had good results.
And for you post-nasal drip sore-throaters like me, this will most likely cure your sore throat. It flushes the mucous off your soft palate that’s collected during the night. Gross? I guess. But if it saves one person a sore throat, I’m okay with that.
Gargling warm salty water has always been my mom’s solution to a sore throat, and my mema always encouraged me to snort the salty water up my stuff nose when I have a cold. I always thought of it this way: if salt water at the beach can help heal cuts and the like, then mixing salt and warm water, and gargling it has to help a sore throat.
Actually, this is an ancient Hatha Yoga exercice – see here.
Isn’t sodium chloride solution the basic ingredient in those saline moisturizing sprays? (not the decongestant vasoconstrictor ones that are oh so addictive…*puff* Ahh that’s better…) Makes total sense to me. :)
Oops, the link in my comment above should be http://www.mexicomedstudent.com/
*blush*
Personal experience, as a patient, totally unburdened by actual medical knowledge: I had three rounds of sinus surgery. After each, my ENT put me on saline solution, to be inhaled. His comment, “This has drastically cut our complication rate.”
Ever since, I’ve used the same method to fend off sinus infections. It seems to work even better with a little bicarb, and a TINY bit of oil of thyme.
It really does help. I’ve done it for years. Except I usually wear a wet suit and go body surfing. If I can’t I do the saline snuff. It is gross.
Another thing I do when allergies get bad is to take a tank of divers air; dry, scrubbed and filtered; and sit on the bottom of the pool until it’s nearly gone. Be careful about equalizing pressure on the way up and down.
The reason that works is, if we remember back to our microbiology lectures, streptoccocus (group A strep being the bacteria behind most sore throats) is intolerant to salt. This is also the reason why strep does not flourish on human skin (sweat is salty).
Seems like some yoga techniques and mum’s advice have a scientific basis after all.
I don’t know, Eddie–my sore throats are usually post-nasal drip related colds, so I think my stuff is mostly viral. And I don’t think it’s just group A strep that’s intolerant to salt. I would think that almost all bacteria would be susceptible to a high osmoloar gradient like salt water, no?
I havent done a study on this but my hypothesis would be:
1. normally, group A strep is kept at bay by the ciliary actions of the epithelial cells that line our throat.
2. some sort of virus (eg common cold) infects the epithelial cells and kills them, thus reducing the ciliary action.
3. group A strep flourishes and causes sore throat.
4. by that reasoning, salt kills group A strep -> salt prevents/cures sore throat.
wouldn’t it be interesting to know for sure?
I dun know about other bacteria and salts, but i know for sure staphlococcus is salt resistant (to what extent i do not know). so do probably mycobacteria (given its thick shell). also must the multitude of bacteria that inhabit the sea.
i just went and saw a new doctor the other day. this was her suggestion for helping with clearing out sinuses and for preventing colds. she did not even prescribe anything to me, she just told me to use this method. i will try it now…
I’ve benn using for years. I’ve discovered it once I went to the beach as a child, I used to have sinusitis. So… the sea takes me inside… I was almost drowning… but I was cured of my sinusitis… Jeje… as a physician always tell my friends and patients to do it.
sore throats suck! I have one now and I am about to try your salt solution, I hope to god it works cause this pain is awful. Thanks for the idea, I always was curious if this salty solution works so im off for a test run.
Good Service
I have found that plain water up the nose helps, but salt water is more effective and comfortable. If I use this method at the first signs of a cold, the cold is either drastically milder, or more than once has been entirely eliminated in a day or so. It also helps to rest, drink lots of water, let the fever do its job (maybe eat some hot stuff like peppers, or whatever, too), and some people say raw garlic is also good.